Dear Friend:

This was the session where slots died a third time and a stem cells bill did not pass. So read the headlines the morning after. Nonetheless, I had many worthy accomplishments this year - preserving the right to vote, protecting our most vulnerable children and mentally ill adults, and assisting several of the neighborhoods in my district.

I write to share with you the actions I took on these issues and the other legislation that I introduced in my 23rd year as a member of the House of Delegates and my first as Vice Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH The states are the laboratories of democracy. Justice Brandeis’ metaphor is now literally true. In the wake of President Bush’s severe restrictions on federal support for embryonic stem cell research, two states, California and New Jersey, are funding this scientific inquiry, and several others are considering it.

That’s why Senator Paula Hollinger and I introduced legislation providing that Maryland spend $25 million annually on this research, which shows extraordinary potential for addressing scores of diseases and debilitating injuries. Only embryos that result from in-vitro fertilization - and are voluntarily donated, could be used in state-funded research. Our bills draw a clear line between therapeutic cloning for research and cloning that would create a human being. They would criminalize the latter.

This research is important to our state's economy. Johns Hopkins, the University of Maryland, the National Institutes of Health, and more than 300 bioscience companies make Maryland a national leader in biotech. The huge whooshing sound heading toward California is made by scientists going west, following the money essential to their research. Those dollars have already lured more than two dozen Harvard researchers to that state.

Four Republican governors support legislation that would authorize or fund this research, but not Governor Ehrlich. Arnold Schwarzenegger supported the California referendum that authorizes $3 billion in research over the next decade. Connecticut’s M. Jodi Rell has proposed the creation of a fund that would trigger investment from other sources. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts supports the use of embryos derived from in-vitro fertilization. Even in the blue state of Missouri, Matt Blunt favors this research.

Governor Ehrlich, on the other hand, desperately wanted to keep my bill off of his desk. If the Governor vetoed it, he would damage himself with the business community and the voters who supported him because he campaigned as a pro-choice moderate. If he signed it, he would alienate religious conservatives and virtually every Republican member of the General Assembly. (Only one Republican delegate voted for the bill. All of the GOP Senators supported the filibuster of the bill.)

"The Governor has no position on the stem cell legislation before the General Assembly," his press spokesmen repeated all session - even after the Governor’s 11th hour statement of support for embryonic stem cell research - two days before the session ended. This spin contradicted the written opposition of one of his Cabinet departments. "State funds are better allocated providing healthcare for our most vulnerable citizens" under the Medicaid program, read the statement in opposition to my bill from the Department of Budget and Management.

Leadership is about making decisions. The Governor failed that test.

"No one has been cured by embryonic stem cell research," misleadingly claimed those who opposed my bill. Scientific inquiry is not a straight - or fast, line. The research that culminated in the polio vaccine began in the early 1900's. Dr. Jonas Salk was the first to develop a successful cure - 50 years ago this month.

Legislative success doesn’t happen overnight either. Although my bill passed the House, 81-53, the threat of a filibuster prevented the bill from coming to a vote in the Senate, where a majority of the members supported this legislation. Senator Hollinger and I will pre-file this legislation for next year’s session. In the 2006 campaign, the Governor will run, but he can’t hide his position on stem cell research.

PRESERVING THE RIGHT TO VOTE "The most basic right of all was the right to choose your own leaders. The history of this country, in large measure, is the history of the expansion of that right to all of our people."

So spoke President Lyndon Johnson to a joint session of Congress in the wake of police beatings of civil rights demonstrators in Selma, Alabama. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was enacted five months later.

I started working on the Voters Rights Protections Act of 2005 on the day after the Bush-Kerry election. Republican efforts to challenge voters in Cleveland were litigated right up until Election Eve. I subsequently read about other actions around the country to deter voting, especially in minority communities: legitimate votes discarded, dubious challenges to voters, and deliberate frauds, deceptions, and schemes to stop citizens from voting. I later learned that these voting irregularities have also occurred in Maryland.

Speaker Mike Busch made my legislation one of only five measures endorsed by the House leadership. House Bill 5 would provide that all provisional ballots determined to be cast by eligible voters are counted in the precinct where the voter is registered, regardless of where the provisional ballot was cast. Eligible voters who lack a particular form of ID should not be turned away if their identity is ascertainable. This legislation would allow voters to establish their identity by presenting any one of a wide variety of documents.

The bill also combats voter suppression by adopting language from the 1965 Voting Rights Act that prohibits the use of force, threat, menace, intimidation, bribery, deception, or reward to influence a voter’s decision whether to go to the polls. Conduct that results or has the intent to result in the denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race, color, or disability is prohibited as well.

"Experience has clearly shown that the existing process of law cannot overcome systematic and ingenious discrimination," declared President Johnson 40 years ago. Systematic denial of the franchise has ended, but ingenious efforts to thwart this fundamental right still mar our electoral process. With the passage of my legislation, these schemes to deny the franchise should end.

LEGALIZING SLOTS For the last three years, I have opposed slots - at Pimlico Race Track or anywhere else in the state. Gambling is a regressive revenue source, taking disproportionately more from those less able to pay. It is unwise to base funding for essential state services, such as education, on revenue from gambling. Maryland is a wealthy state; we should not resort to slots to meet our civic obligations.

The communities surrounding Pimlico should not be burdened with the negative effects of gambling. Under the slots bill that passed the House, slots would not have come to Pimlico, but $13 million would have been provided to the track’s neighborhoods for residential and community redevelopment. I did not vote for the bill, but I worked with Speaker Busch and Delegates Oaks and Goodwin to provide that aid for our communities.

CHILD WELFARE Maryland’s child welfare system touches the lives of 90,000 children and their families every year. Insufficient resources and an inadequate system for measuring the effectiveness of child welfare services prevent children from receiving the high quality services they deserve. Instead, the state focuses on meeting state and federal minimum standards and handling only the most pressing needs.

Federal law requires that "reasonable efforts" be made to prevent children from entering foster care; reunite them with their parents; protect the child's well-being; and implement a permanency plan - adoption, independent living, or adoption and guardianship, when reunification is no longer in the child’s interests. Unfortunately, no matter how poorly a case has been handled, juvenile courts are loath to make a finding that could result in a financial penalty to the State. In far too many cases, the courts will find that the "reasonable efforts"standard has been met, if some effort was made - however minimal, however long ago.

Under the bill that I successfully introduced, if a court concludes that reasonable efforts were made, it must justify that finding in a written decision. The legislation would also empower courts, consistent with the Maryland Constitution, to order that services be provided, when in the child's best interest. Finally, to ensure accountability and enforcement, negative findings must be reported to appropriate officials.

Parents who are living with and supporting their children should not be burdened by child support debt they owe to the state. I introduced House Bill 1181 to enable parents to reunite and care for their children. If both parents live together and raise their child for at least twelve months and the non-custodial parent earns less than 225% of the federal poverty level, the State will now forgive a portion of the father’s child support obligation..

HB 1181, which was enacted, also requires a study of Child Support Trust Accounts, which promote work and self sufficiency among low-income families. Any child support paid to a custodial parent on welfare would be placed in a special account, which can be tapped only when the family leaves public assistance. It could be used to help make the transition to work through the purchase of a car or help pay for a child’s education.

Another bill to encourage families to reunite did not pass. A tax credit for earned income for noncustodial parents, who paid at least 75% of their child support obligations, would have been created by House Bill 1038. With little education or skills, many young fathers face limited job opportunities, with low wages. Garnishment of their salary discourages them from working or prompts them to drop into the underground economy. My bill was modeled on similar legislation introduced by Governor George Pataki of New York.

House Bill 1197, which I introduced, would require the State to make a long-term commitment to additional funding for child welfare and to implement measures to ensure accountability for delivering quality services to needy children and their families. This bill passed the House, but time ran out on the last night of the session before it could be considered by the full Senate.

MENTALLY ILL Addressing the needs of mentally ill individuals and their families is one of my longstanding concerns. Far too often, the mentally ill are arrested for minor offenses. Soon after they’re released, too many begin a downward spiral of destitution, mental and physical deterioration, arrest, and more time in jail.

A lack of money is a major cause for this all too common pattern. Many of these individuals receive monthly federal disability payments before going to jail, but that assistance is terminated when they’re imprisoned. It takes months to restore after they’re released. These payments will be suspended - instead of terminated, and automatically resumed when an individual leaves jail, under legislation that I successfully co-sponsored with Delegate Jim Hubbard. A study will also be conducted of other ways to break this downward cycle.

NEIGHBORHOOD ISSUES Senator Lisa Gladden, Delegates Nathaniel Oaks and Jill Carter, and I dealt with several neighborhood issues. The Mt. Washington community treasures an undeveloped plot of land on Rogers Avenue. The site of a youth soccer league, as well as informal recreational activities, this oasis is especially valued by a community that is buffeted by development just across the City-County line and the prospect of slots at Pimlico. These benefits are not limited to Mt. Washington; children from several neighborhoods participate in the soccer program.

This property is owned by the University of Baltimore. Last fall, the Board of Regents asked all of its institutions to examine the sale of excess land. My 41st District colleagues and I worked with the community in drafting legislation that would restrict the future use of this site. We did not need to introduce a bill, however, because the possibility of our doing so prompted productive discussions between the university and the neighborhood about this land.

Conversion of the Bonnie View Country Club property to residential use raises serious environmental concerns for adjoining neighborhoods. Before these par 3's could become 3 BR’s, soil testing to assess the harm from pesticides and other chemicals would have been mandated by House Bill 1203, which I introduced. This bill did not pass, but it prompted the property’s developers to give the community the results of the testing they did.

For several years, the College of Notre Dame has talked about constructing a new entrance to the school. It would be directly opposite Blythewood Road, a quiet residential street, and also pose significant safety problems due to the heavy traffic on Charles Street. In response to legislation that I introduced, the College and the North Baltimore Neighborhood Coalition have agreed to non-binding mediation on this matter. I’m hopeful that this will lead to an appropriate solution.

LACI PETERSON House Bill 398 would make it a felony to murder a viable fetus. As Vice Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I played a crucial role in achieving a compromise on this legislation. I had it amended to exempt acts of the pregnant woman, clarify that the bill in no way confers fetal personhood, require that the defendant intended to harm the fetus, and protect medical personnel administering reasonable medical care to the pregnant woman.

Leading the fight to enact the law preserving a woman’s right to choose, which the voters approved on referendum in 1992, is one of my most significant accomplishments as a legislator. By opposing moderate legislation such as HB 398, pro-choice advocates cede the center of debate by appearing indifferent to the murder of a fetus, even when the mother intended to carry it to term.

I will now seek support from colleagues on both sides of the abortion issue for preventive measures that would make it less likely a woman will face the difficult decision whether to have a child that she has not planned for or is not ready to care for. Twenty years ago, I successfully spearheaded a similar initiative that funded family planning, an award-winning public relations campaign promoting abstinence, and family support centers.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE Innocent people are sentenced to prison. These mistakes most often come to light in death penalty cases, but reform is needed throughout the criminal justice process.

An eyewitness may identify the wrong person because of error-prone lineup procedures and psychological factors that give the victim or observer unwarranted certainty about an ID. House Bill 973 would reform the use of photos of "suspects" and allow expert testimony on the limits of this evidence. Showing photos to a witness one at a time, ensuring that the officer conducting the lineup does not know who the suspect is, and telling the witness that the suspect might not be in the lineup are among the reforms other jurisdictions have adopted.

The Supreme Court ruled 41 years ago that the government must give evidence favorable to the accused to his or her attorney. House Bill 974 would require prosecutors to consult with law enforcement agencies to make sure they have received all exculpatory evidence. In addition to lowering the number of false convictions, my bill would reduce the number of expensive appeals and post-conviction proceedings resulting from the government’s failure to meet its discovery obligations. My bills did not pass, but they were referred to the Rules Committee of the Judiciary. I will soon meet with the chair of that committee to discuss these issues.

GREEN BUILDINGS AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING Buildings that consume less energy save money in the long run, but the up-front costs are greater when you’re talking to a loan officer. Four years ago, I was one of the lead sponsors when we enacted the Green Buildings Tax Credit. This incentive fosters buildings that conserve energy, utilize green building materials, and follow environmentally sound design principles.

Last fall, I met with Michael Furbish, who specializes in such construction. "Under the current law, buildings must be at least 20,000 square feet," he said. "Smaller developments are often good candidates for green building principles, but they’re not eligible for the credit." Our meeting prompted me to introduced House Bill 975, which would make 10,000 square feet the minimum size for a building to be eligible for the credit.

I also introduced the legislation that led to the creation in 1996 of a tax credit for donations of property or goods to non-profits. Habitat for Humanity, one of the groups that has used this credit to build affordable housing, asked me to expand the law to include the donation of real property.

Both of these bills passed the House, but they died in a Senate committee because of concerns that we should not expand eligibility for these credits, which are oversubscribed. I will reintroduce both bills next year.

BLOGGERS Many of you know of my passion for protecting our First Amendment rights. As the Internet transforms the way we get news and commentary, our laws must recognize this development and foster a robust, wide open, and uninhibited debate in this new medium.

Regularly updated online journals, like my session diary, are known as weblogs. They are increasingly popular and important sources of information. Many have thousands of readers. While these bloggers unquestionably function as reporters, they do not enjoy the statutory protection against involuntary disclosure of confidential sources and information granted to traditional journalists. House Bill 1140 would have updated the law by extending this "reporter’s shield" to bloggers. Since many of my colleagues were unfamiliar with the journalistic nature of blogs, my bill did not pass.

I look forward to hearing from you in the coming months about issues of interest to you.